TURKMENBASHI /Turkmenistan/, October 9. /TASS/. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has proposed to establish a CIS+1 format to expand cooperation between the Commonwealth of Independent States and Tehran.
"A format 'Commonwealth of Independent States + Iran,' or CIS+1, should be established as a flexible and efficient mechanism for dialogue and cooperation," he said at the CIS summit, as quoted by the Fars news agency.
According to Pezeshkian, regional diplomacy "should serve as an instrument of crisis management, maintaining ties, preventing the spread of conflicts, and fostering practical cooperation." Iran, in his words, wants "communication rather than fragmentation, cooperation rather than destructive competition, interdependence rather than unilateral dependence, and security based on trust and shared interests rather than security based on threats."
Iran is a "gate" from Central Asia to the sea, with Iranian ports in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman providing access to South Asia, Africa, and Europe, he noted, adding that the North-South and West-East corridors are not rivals but "elements of a common regional network." He also expressed hope that this summit will be a "practical step toward forming a region where Central Asia, the South Caucasus, and Iran will be part of a unified network of cooperation rather than a collection of separate areas."